Why Men Must Dress Nicely (And When I Say 'Nicely', I Mean 'How Women Want Them To')

As I personally lack the vapid, shallow sort of mindset that making these sorts of statements requires, I've taken the liberty of borrowing the following findings from the most excellent, fashion4nerds.com

Fashion4Nerds Basic Theory

When selecting appropriate clothes to attract women it can help to have some insight into how the fairer sex thinks. Every woman is different, but our research has shown that most would agree with the following sentiments:

1. They want your clothing to reflect your maturity

You are no longer a little boy, thus you should not have the velcro Transformers wallet that a little boy would have.

2. They want your fashion to show that you made some sort of effort to look good

If you can’t keep your shoes clean, how can they take you seriously as an adult? You don’t have to do much - keep your clothes clean and avoid the typical Nerd fashion faux pas (shirts, pants, shoes, grooming, etc…)

3. They like confident men - certain fashion choices imply confidence

Instead of trying to hide your bald spot with a comb-over, it is infinitely preferable to women for you to just accept that you are balding and have the confidence to cut your hair short and clean.

Now, let me preface this by saying that for a certain type of woman, these observations are bang on. If you like a woman who spends three hours getting ready for a date, loves to be feminine, likes pretty dresses, and secretly makes catty comments about the shoes 'she's' wearing, then follow the above advice precisely.

On the other hand, if you're looking for someone whose aesthetic senses wouldn't drown in an inch of water, then you can safely ignore many of the above tips, aside from the ones where they tell you to be clean. Smelling bad and being dirty is almost never attractive. But I didn't need to tell you that, because you're not a drooling moron, are you?

Here's the exception I take with the comment that women want men's clothing to reflect their maturity, etc. It is really implying that men should be dressing the way women want, which isn't a sign of maturity, it is a sign of transferring one's mother allegiances (wearing what mommy buys) to a woman less closely biologically tied to you (wearing what mommy girlfriend likes you to wear.)

You don't see online articles telling women how they should dress to please men, (though one could make a reasonably decent argument that all beauty magazines are essentially tomes to help women attract men, but at least these don't stoop so low as to explicitly state that a woman should dress to please a man on an everyday basis.) Why? Because women long ago rejected that kind of thinking as sexist. Perhaps it's time men did the same.

Comments

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stubborn_optimist 7 years ago

yes, but many women's articles are titled 'how to look hot for him.'

Mara 7 years ago

What kind of clothing tradtionally has been reserved for men or women? Melanie, you are right, but there is just the question in what kind of society.

Our society right now accepts all what looks like stereotype and ruled like in a herd.

Taking about wearing something which reflects maturity? Hope, you are right, but who will read and understand the message?

Author

Hope Alexander 7 years ago

It is sexist if women's articles are titled 'how to look hot' and men's articles are titled 'how to dress in a way women like', which, as you will notice, is the main thrust of the quoted piece.

stubborn_optimist 7 years ago

I agree with two out of these three guidelines. Clean clothing is important, and a comb-over is equivalent to a bleach blonde hair in that it's supposed to make the wearer more attractive but really makes them look fake. I can't imagine someone wearing a comb-over unless they are trying to appeal to someone. I have seen articles in magazines called "how to dress to catch his attention" or "looks he'll love." I don't see articles on how to dress to look attractive in any way sexist, as both sexes have them. I do think that they are slightly homophobic, because the ones aimed at men are always about appealing to men, and vice versa.

Melanie 7 years ago

The double standard is alive and well. Women have been taking liberties with their dress for years. In today's world, some females seem to be doing everything they can to copy mens fashion and bluring the lines of gender. If it makes them happy, then I'm all for it. But on the other hand, I don't want to hear them making comments about men that wish to push the envelope in the other direction, by wearing clothing that traditionally has been reserved for women. Both sexes deserve to be treated equally and respected as individuals.